Shit. Shit. Shit.
Before I can stop her Alexis is by his side, crouching by the barrel. For a moment, I’m afraid it’s not Lucky but some wild animal that will bite her if she gets too close. But then the tail-wagging intensifies, and slowly I see my dog scramble to his feet.
“He’s hurt,” Alexis says and shines the light at his paw, which hovers over the concrete floor, a bad gash along the hip stained with mostly dried blood. “It looks bad, Blake. He really needs a vet. There’s no way he can walk up those stairs; that’s probably how he got stuck here in the first place.”
“I’ll carry him.” I swallow against the lump in my throat to keep from crying as my guilt bubbles to the surface. I should have come sooner to check on him, I should have called someone or done anything to make sure he was well and taken care of. Stupid! “Upstairs—in the lower cabinet next to the door there should be a bag of kibble. Can you get it?”
“Meet you at the car?” she asks, already headed for the stairs. I nod.
“Be careful, please, or your brother will kill me.”
She’s already disappeared into the kitchen upstairs, but her laugh echoes through the empty room.
“Mommy is laughing at me, do you hear that Lucky?” he digs his snout into my hands at once, whimpering and pressing himself against me until he confuses even himself. “I’m gonna lift you now, but I’ll be very careful, okay?”
I move as slowly as I can muster, trying not to startle him. It takes a few tries before I can hold him comfortably while holding the flashlight so I can see, but when I do I make a beeline for the stairs and take them two at a time. The kitchen is empty and I find Alexis waiting by the car as promised, the back door open and her scarf laid out over the backseat like a blanket. Something in her hand glints in the weak sunlight and as we draw closer I recognize it as being Lucky’s water bowl.
“The food is in the trunk, but I figured water has a higher priority.” She steps aside so I can lay Lucky in the back seat. “I couldn’t find a leash or anything, though. Do you want me to sit in the back with him?”
“No,” I say as I shut the door. “I need you with me.”
A soft smile creeps onto her lips as she lays her hand on my shoulders, rising onto her toes to kiss my damp cheek. “Always.”
Chapter 17
Alexis
It’s wellpast midnight when we arrive back on campus.
The vet worked on Lucky for a while, giving fluids and treating injuries. He didn’t need to stay overnight, thankfully, but between the leg wound and bruised spine only time will tell if he’ll recover in full.
Meanwhile, I forced Blake to eat something, which was funny as it’s usually the other way around. It took some coaching on my part; a few empty promises of a striptease, light threats to his life, the usual. But I knew he would do the same for me, so I had to make it work.
The hockey team’s house is dark save for a few scattered lights, and for a moment I’m convinced we can sneak Lucky in unnoticed. But moments are fleeting, chased by the imminence of another. And when I find Levi’s face on the other side of the front door, I know we’re fucked.
“You know, when Lis and I set the two of you up to do this thing we did it because it seemed you already got along. And it’s great that you’re hitting it off, but this isn’t okay, Alexis. Staying out until midnight without telling any of us where you are? What were you thinking?” Levi crosses his arms over his chest, muchlike our dad does when he’s angry. Has he forgotten that he’s not my parent? That we’re barely a year apart and he has no right to scold me?
“Are you done?” I sigh. “Something came up that couldn’t wait. And last I checked, I don’t need your permission for anything.”
Levi’s eyes grow to the size of saucers, his head shaking with a fervor. I don’t hear his footsteps, but I know Blake must be coming up behind me with a very sleepy Lucky in his arms.
“Nope. Nuh-uh. Bring it somewhere else.”
I roll my eyes and push my brother out of the doorway so we can get out of the freezing cold. “There is nowhere else, Levi, or trust me we’d be there.”
“I don’t like what you’re insinuating.”
“You started it.”
I hold his gaze, trying to distract him enough that he doesn’t notice Blake slipping away to stash Lucky in his room. As Blake’s bedroom door closes up the stairs, I slack a small sigh of relief.Tiny victories.
Levi glances at the landing, then back at me. Only now do I register the dark circles underneath his eyes, like he’s been having a lot of sleepless nights. Did he stay up to yell at Blake tonight, or is his presence downstairs just a coincidence?
“What’s going on between you two, Alexis? Really.” Levi’s voice is softer now, though its intensity makes the hallway even smaller. “Not too long ago you jumped out of a moving car to avoid him, and now you’re going on dog-rescue trips and staying out until midnight? What changed?”
We kissed. He made me come. Not in that order.
“I got to know him,” I say. “And I like the way he makes me feel. Wanted, adored. Safe.”
